1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a yard feed device for textile machines, of the type comprising an inlet yarn guide for receiving the yarn from a package, cone or like supply member; a feed drum having a cylindrical surface which may be engaged by the yarn extending from the inlet yarn guide; means for causing said feed drum to rotate; and an outlet yarn guide from which the yarn is supplied to a needle of a textile machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many textile machines, particularly circular knitting machines, are provided with needle selection systems for knitting jacquard fabrics. Such selections are very varied and irregular, relative to the amount of needles being selected.
The number of needles being raised continuously to take yarn for knitting varies in each knitting system of the machine, consuming the yarn in a very irregular, intermittent way.
The so-called positive feed yarn feeders on the market are not prepared for intermittent yarn supplying, so they are inapplicable to such machines. They may only be used when the selector systems are taken out of service and all or part of the needles knit continuously.
There are other feed systems, known as yarn accumulation or yarn storage feed because of the large number of turns of yarn wrapped around the corresponding drum, which are particularly designed for intermittent supply of yarn. Nevertheless, the size thereof makes them troublesome to mount, and furthermore, the working system thereof requires a substantial investment, since, among other factors, they generally require an independent motor. The majority of these yarn feeders are not effective when the machine is knitting continuously, since the outgoing yarn speed is substantially slower than the incoming yarn speed, whereby no positive feed is produced.